Brian Ashcraft

It wasn't your typical iPhone crime scene. In Chongqing, China, a clothing store employee plugged her iPhone 4S in at the register to charge it. But after helping a mother and her young son, the clerk noticed that her phone was missing.

The store's surveillance camera supposedly showed how the mother and son team worked together to get the phone: the mother distracted the clerk, while the child grabbed the charging iPhone. The child then handed the phone to his mother, who covered it with a cloth and them allegedly slipped it into her pants pocket. The entire episode was carried out in seconds.

The young mother, who had been trying on countless outfits, said she needed to hit an ATM to withdraw some cash. The duo left the store and did not return. It was only after they left that the clerk noticed the missing phone. The incident was reported to the police, who are now investigating the matter.

There are many things parents should teach their children; how to successfully steal an iPhone isn't one of them. Though, maybe she was just giving him a head start—on a life of crime.